The present invention relates generally to housings for computer peripherals and, more particularly, to a sheet metal housing for an optical disk handling apparatus having a moving assembly adapted to be positioned in registry with portions of a separately mounted static assembly.
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 314,012 filed 2/22/89 for CARTRIDGE HANDLING SYSTEM of Wanger et al., which is hereby specifically incorporated by reference for all that is disclosed therein, describes an optical disk storage and handling system. In that system, optical disks are transferred between a storage rack and a reading device by means of an automated handling assembly. In such an optical disk storage and handling system, the storage rack and reading device must be positioned at precisely referenced locations with respect to the stationary components of the handling assembly to ensure proper registry during disk transfer operations.
In most computer peripheral devices in which a moving assembly is to be referenced to another, separately mounted assembly, it is conventional to provide a large rigid reference base member upon which the different assemblies are mounted. Such a base member provides a common, stable frame of reference for the various assemblies which are to be referenced with one another. Reference base members are typically formed by machining of large cast metal blocks.
Subsequent to mounting the various separate assemblies on the reference base member, a housing constructed from less rigid material such as, for example, sheet metal, plastic or the like, is mounted on the base member to enclose the different assemblies. Due to the considerable cost of fabricating such reference base members, and also due to the considerable weight of such base members, it would be desirable to find an alternative method of providing accurate apparatus mounting references.